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Some Lush workers say the cosmetic retailer is trying to suppress a union drive in Canada — including intimidating supporters in other countries

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Workers at the cosmetic retailer Lush have accused the company of trying to suppress a union drive in Canada. Employees have also said that the company sent warnings to Lush workers in the US — where no unionization effort is underway — who voice support for union organizers in Canada.

Insider previously reported that in October, employees in Lush's Toronto manufacturing and distribution centers went public with their unionizing campaign. Since then, some workers have reported intimidation tactics and have filed various complaints with the Ontario Labour Relations Board, which oversees union activity in Canada, and the US's National Labor Relations Board.

In December, Workers United Canada Council, a union organizer, filed a complaint with the OLRB against Lush Cosmetics, alleging that Lush violated Canadian labor laws.

The complaint said Lush engaged in anti-union tactics, held "captive audience meetings" among employees, distributed anti-union flyers, and engaged in intimidation tactics among those who have gone public with their support for the union. (Captive-audience meetings are meetings, sometimes mandatory, with anti-union agendas.)

Since the December complaint with the Ontario Labour Relations Board, a representative from the union's organizer confirmed that Lush had stopped holding captive-audience meetings with employees. Lush had also reached out to at least two employees who posted union-supporting messages on The Hive, the company's internal messaging board.

"At Lush we believe in worker rights and the employee's decision to unionize or not," said Wendy Kubota, Lush North America's brand director, in a statement to Insider. "We also believe employees have the right to receive correct and accurate information regarding unionization, which includes Lush's responsibility to address any reports that contain mistruths about our people, culture, and company. This includes any misinformation from unions and their supporters."

While organizers want 65% of support from an eligible group of almost 1,400 employees, the drive still hasn't garnered enough support — it needs 40% — to apply for a vote with the Ontario Labour Relations Board.

Insider spoke with four current and two former employees across Lush North America about their experiences with the union drive and the response from management.

Some workers report intimidation

Lush recently laid off a leading member of the drive's organizing committee, Christopher Flynn, who had previously worked in Lush's Toronto distribution center as a seasonal worker in multiple contracts over the past 14 months. At the end of December, Lush changed its seasonal-hiring policy, which ended the long-term extensions of contracts for some seasonal employees, Flynn said. While his contract was extended to January, this change ultimately cost Flynn and other seasonal employees their jobs. (After Insider spoke to Flynn and Lush for this story, Flynn was offered and accepted a new contract for a seasonal role that began in May.)

Lush declined to share information regarding the employment of its seasonal workers and any policy changes that may have affected them.

Flynn said the move felt like retaliation for his role in the union. The initial union push was motivated by a desire to create a better system for Lush's seasonal workers, many of whom often find themselves in an extended contractual position instead of being hired full time. Flynn said much of the vocal support for the drive came from seasonal staff members in distribution.

Cameron Vindua, a seasonal worker in Lush's offices in Canada between 2019 and 2020, said he was interested in having the union advocate for better rights and benefits for Lush's seasonal workers. He worked with the organizing committee at the start of the drive. After announcing his support for the union, he recounted facing what he described as "unmonitored retaliation," in which his manager would constantly check in on him and ask questions about how to make his time at Lush more positive.

"They were implying, 'No, we're going to get resources to you so you don't need a union,'" Vindua said. He added that he felt "unsafe" when, after he had voiced support for the union, his team leader began watching over him at all times during a work shift.

lush factoryBonsitu Hoffman, a Lush union organizer, has been called into four meetings by management for union-related matters. In one instance, she received a letter from the Lush human-resources team when she posted on The Hive in early November about Lush's rejection of the union efforts. She said she was then called into a meeting in which she was questioned about her support for the union; asked to explain her post, line by line; and asked whether she thought her actions were "appropriate."

Hoffman filed a complaint with the OLRB with regard to being called into a meeting with Lush management on November 4 and being questioned about her involvement in organizing the union. According to the complaint, management said it was investigating claims of Hoffman harassing employees with pro-union material. Management ultimately retracted this allegation in a November 16 email to Hoffman, which was viewed by Insider.

Lush's actions would be problematic under labor law if they were found to intimidate employees and interfere with unionizing efforts, said Daniel Lublin, a founding partner of Whitten and Lublin, a workplace law firm in Canada.

"An employer can respond to these things by sharing information, but it can't cross the line into threats, coercion, or intimidation," Lublin said.

Despite the vocal drive, not all Lush employees want to join a union. Tristan Biggar, a core manufacturing staff member for the past six years in Lush's Toronto center, said he is suspicious of the union's goal to bring on more seasonal employees as full-time workers. He said many roles at Lush are seasonally based, and that to bring on hundreds of employees in a non-busy season would mean less work for everyone overall. It would also mean hiring people with less understanding of Lush's business, he said.

"I know, because there's not a lot of the core positions available, that it is competitive," Biggar said. "I was a seasonal once and I got core, but I worked my ass off for it. So that's kind of what you have to do at Lush."

Biggar said he feels like there are other employees who share his sentiment about the union. He also said that he is skeptical about a union's impact on merit-based benefits and promotions.

Support from US employees, questions from management

Two Lush employees in the US who have expressed their support for the union drive said they have faced backlash from leadership as well.

Hannah Ryan Cahill, a Lush retail worker in a store in New York, was approached by management after she posted on The Hive about wanting to learn more about the Lush unionization movement in Canada. Shortly after she posted, Cahill's manager told her that she'd received a call at the store from Lush management asking about Cahill's role at Lush and her support for unions. Cahill said her district manager also came in to question her about her support for the union in Canada, despite her position as a retail worker in a US store.

"It definitely feels like surveillance and policing," Cahill said.

In December, Maxwell Dolso-Morey, a retail employee at a Lush store in San Francisco, posted three comments on The Hive regarding his support for the union efforts of his Canadian colleagues, in which he criticized the company's efforts to squash the drive.

"Stop harassing employees who want to participate in the DEMOCRATIC process of joining a union," Dolso-Morey wrote in one of his posts, which was viewed by Insider. "Please, please get off your SOAPBOX."

Dolso-Morey had previously been reprimanded by management for an August post on The Hive in which he described Mark Wolverton, Lush North America's CEO, as a "scumbag" and "a boot we are supposed to lick."

On January 6, Dolso-Morey received a letter from Stephen Dynes, Lush's people and culture business partner for the West Coast, which began with the statement, "To ensure that this letter is not misconstrued, we are specifically advising that it does not constitute discipline." The letter, which was viewed by Insider, went on to say, "Your conduct in posting unsubstantiated allegations and personally insulting comments on the hive is not acceptable." The letter referenced Dolso-Morey's previous posts in August and also said he should feel free to express his support for the union.

In addition to receiving this letter, Dolso-Morey said he was called into his manager's office and questioned about his support for the union drive in Canada. He said he was asked to explain what a union is and the benefits of joining one. He also said he was asked what Lush could be doing differently and whether he had tried to reach out to corporate about his issues. Dolso-Morey said the meeting felt disciplinary, as it was a follow-up to the letter he had previously received. He said he assumed he was going to lose his job.

In February, he filed an "unfair labor practice" complaint regarding this issue, which was viewed by Insider. After a 10-week investigation, the NLRB's office in San Francisco said it found sufficient evidence to civilly prosecute Lush for its treatment of Dolso-Morey, which violated US labor law.

"A Canadian union has gone to the NLRB on behalf of one US employee," Kubota, Lush North America's Brand Director, said in a statement. "Lush intends to defend against the complaint in court later this year and believes the complaint is without merit."

Lush is known for its "ethical buying"standards, which include working with companies that are supportive of unions and collective-bargaining efforts. Lush Canada previously partnered with the Workers Assistance Center to help support the formation of workers unions in the Philippines.

"Despite all their lofty talk of rights and values, Lush doesn't want them raised at home by their own employees," said Richard Bensinger, a union organizer and senior advisor to Workers United who is working with Lush employees on the campaign,

Hoffman said, "It's the weaponizing and commodification of their ethics."

This story has been updated with Christopher Flynn's current job status.

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